Oneida Indian Nation honors veterans, serving military at annual ceremony

VERONA -- Nearly 500 veterans and those currently serving in the military joined together Saturday for the 12th annual Veterans Recognition Ceremony at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort.

Keynote speaker New York Air National Guard Col. Dawne Deskins, commander of the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, told the story of working at EADS (formerly called NEADS, or North East Air Defense Sector before merging with the South East Air Defense Sector) the morning of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Since Sept. 11, EADS has grown in operation to monitor the eastern portion of the United states from the Mississippip River to the Atlantic Ocean, covering more than 1 million square miles of air space. The work is done by 178 radars throughout the eastern sector.

For Deskins, being part of the pre-Veterans Day event was truly an honor.

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"Your service and sacrifice has been instrumental in getting this country where it is," she said.

Among the veterans in attendance was Rich Synek of New Hartford, who was happy to note that the Oneida Nation Foundation donated $1,000 to his charity, Feed our Vets.

The money will cover about two week's expenses for the organization. Every month, the organization spends about $3,000 to provide food for individuals in Central New York.

Feed Our Vets is a nonprofit organization that works to feed hungry and homeless veterans.

Synek, who served in the United States Navy from 1985-88, began the project while working as the postmaster of the Vernon Center post office.

Synek remembers one day, a World War II veteran came into he post office and bought a single stamp. When Synek asked the man why he didn't buy a book of stamps, the man said that he and his wife only had enough money to eat properly for two weeks of each month.

Later that night, Synek purchased groceries for the man.

After researching the issues affecting veterans and those currently serving in the military, he found a number of startling revelations, including that many military personnel are living below the poverty line if they have a family to support on military pay.

Today, Feed Our Vets has grown to serve about 4,900 people every year in Central New York.